The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also correspond to embodiments of the claimed subject matter.
Today's consumer electronics market frequently demands complex functions requiring very intricate circuitry. Scaling to smaller and smaller fundamental building blocks, (e.g. transistors), has enabled the incorporation of even more intricate circuitry on a single die with each progressive generation. Semiconductor packages are used for protecting an integrated circuit (IC) chip or die, and also to provide the die with an electrical interface to external circuitry. With the increasing demand for smaller electronic devices, semiconductor packages are designed to be even more compact and must support increased circuit density.
Key challenges with the manufacture of integrated circuit (IC) semiconductor packaging are the problems of substrate cracking and substrate warpage as the substrates are manufactured thinner and thinner and also the problem of electromagnetic interference (EMI) within such packages as semiconductor packages become increasingly dense with functional circuitry.
As the form factor requirements of electronics become thinner, so do the silicon dies and also the substrate materials upon which various electronic components are mounted and the stresses that such materials undergo becomes more problematic because the silicon dies and the substrate materials become increasingly fragile as they become thinner. These stresses manifest in the form of substrate warping and risk of cracking of the silicon dies, each of which render the package inoperable.
Issues surrounding substrate cracking are especially problematic with the reliability of ultra thin (e.g., sub 1.5 mm thin) substrate packages which are in high demand today.
Thin substrates are more prone to warpage which presents problems with manufacturability and also product resilience. Even within client laptop and desktop type systems package warpage can be a problem. The presence of high package warpage at surface mount reflow processes during manufacturing results in non-contact opens, solder ball bridging, and other problems resulting in product failure.
With regard to problem of electromagnetic interference, the integration of a Radio Frequency (RF) die or other wireless transceiver die or wireless transceiver components within semiconductor packages with other functional semiconductor die such as high power logic circuits and CPUs is especially problematic due to the interference of the RF dies with the other functional semiconductor dies within the same semiconductor package as the competing electromagnetic signals and interference from each can be highly disruptive to the other.
Prior solutions resorted to simply keeping the RF dies and other functional semiconductor dies such as a CPU or high powered logic die separated by a large distance. Doing so generally meant that RF dies and CPU dies were relegated to separate packages to minimize the disruptive interference emanating from each but it is not always practical or desirable to separate such components.
The present state of the art may therefore benefit from the organic stiffener with an EMI shield for RF integration as is described herein.